What really happened in Budapest
by Batman DannyP fanwriter
Summary: Rated T for safety...One of my many versions of what might have happened in Budapest, slight twist in my normal story lines where this story is concerned
1. Chapter 1 Hospital Rush

**What Happened in Budapest**

**Chapter 1 Hospital Rush**

Natasha Romanoff was one of the best damn agents in the field, rarely did she make a mistake, so Clint could not fathom why they sent her to an undercover mission with a newbie rather then him. He had been told that it was because she was training the newbie, but with that intense of a mission there was no call for her to be training a newbie; she needed someone who knew what they were doing. Clint sighed, he knew he was still being punished for what happened with Loki, but that was not his fault, and now Nat had paid the price by getting hurt in her mission with the stupid newbie.

Fury had sent Agent Grant Ward, a new face to him, but not new to the work, to tell him what had happened to Natasha. He had been in one of his favorite hiding places, one of the only places where no one would bother him, when Ward found him. Clint sighed and frowned at Ward who had not hidden how he felt about Clint's actions with Loki. To Ward it didn't matter that he had been under mind control by Loki, all that mattered to him was that Clint had attacked his own people. Clint frowned at him and glared at him, what could he possible want with him? He waited and that was when Ward gave him the news about Nat being rushed to the hospital. He told Clint of how she had been on the mission with an unnamed newbie, training him on the undercover mission, when things went very wrong. The newbie freaked when they were found out and she had to protect not only herself but him as well, and in doing so she had been hurt. Back up had come in to help them and that was what had saved their lives, however "Agent Romanoff" had been hurt badly and normally would be left alone to recover, but she had been asking for him ever since they took her to the hospital. Apparently she had known how badly she was hurt and whatever she wanted to see "Agent Barton" for, it couldn't wait and Director Fury had said that it was mandatory to get Clint in order to calm "Agent Romanoff" down so that she could actually focus on recovering.

Clint rushed to the hospital after that. He didn't wait on Shield to transport him there, he just hopped on his cycle, bow and arrows slung over his shoulder like always, and took off. He came to a screeching stop at the hospital and jumped off and all but ran to the room that was marked as hers. It was being guarded on the outside by two veteran and trustworthy Shield agents and Clint walked past them and into the room.

Nat was sitting weakly on her bed and was surrounded by several flowers and off to her side was a small girl, that could be no more then 6, maybe seven, who was holding tightly to Nat's hand. Nat's leg was casted and hanging up in the air. Her left arm was in a sling and he could see that her middle was bandaged as well, that must have been where the bullets had hit, her arm and her middle section. Clint winced as he walked forward, seeing her like this hurt him, he should have been her back up, she would not be hurt like this if he had been. Clint sighed as he came forward and sat down at her side. He noticed that the girl stayed quiet but eyed him with an emotion he was not sure about, it almost looked like curiosity.

Nat smiled up at him, "Clint, I'm glad you are here, I was hoping you would come."

"Fury said you were hurt bad, and he was right, you look like hell," he said trying to keep his tone light and joking, though deep down it tore him up to see her like this.

"Hey, I've seen you in worse," she said with a smile, lightly punching his shoulder with her good hand.

"Yeah, that's true, you saw me in Budapest, I believe I looked a lot worse then you do here and now…Had it not been for you, I'd have died there," he said with a smile as he looked at her.

"Yes, I'm glad you brought that up because that is exactly what I wanted to talk to you about…About that night in Budapest…"

Clint rose an eyebrow, "I thought we said on that night that we would never talk about that night again…Why bring it up now of all times…"

"Well you remember the night, right," She asked carefully.

"Yeah, I remember, I almost died that night…" he responded slowly.

"Yes, and I was so afraid I was gonna lose you…It's not as if they gave us a medical kit or anything…You could have easily died…" She said in a sad and worried tone.

"I know that Nat, but you saved me, you kept me alive until help could get to us," Clint said with a warm smile.

"Yes, but do you remember what happened that night," She asked again, but this time her voice had a tone of caution in it.

"Yeah, I remember," He said slowly, looking at her then looked at the young girl in the room, "but we agreed not to talk about it, you said it was just in the moment, because you thought you were gonna lose me…Besides, we should keep this talk PG because of present company…" Clint said, again giving a side glance at the young girl in the room.

"Yes, well things have changed Clint…I had to make sure you remembered what happened that night, and now that I know that you remember, I can tell you a little more…Clint, I'd like you to meet someone…This is Clair Alianiva Romanoff…Barton…You see, Budapest was only six and a half years ago…You said that you remembered what happened that night…Well Clint, I know how you feel about family, what with all the things that happened to you in your family, and Lord knows that I have not had the best family life, but…I couldn't just leave Clair, she needed a family, a mother…I wouldn't bring this up, but, well, the hospital said she is too young to stay here and she has nowhere else to stay, I'm the only family she has, well, me, and you…Clint, what I am trying to say is that…well, that night in Budapest was not just a night…That was the night that Clair became, uh, well, that was when she first started her journey into this world…" Natasha sighed. "What I am trying to tell you Clint is that you are Clair's father…Clair was as close to Clint as I could get for a girl…I didn't think Francis would be a good middle name for a girl, so I had to do my best to get as close to Clint as I could for her first name, hence the name Clair…I gave her my middle name so that she could be a little bit of both, but her last name is Barton…" Natasha sighed again and looked at Clint. "I know you have a lot to deal with what with the Loki thing and the mandatory counseling sessions Fury has you going to, but…Clair has nowhere else to go, and…She really has always wanted to meet you, always wanted to know her father…She has always known you were her father, she just never got to meet you…She understood why, but she has always wished for this…Please take her in Clint, it's only until I get out of here…" Natasha's eyes looked at him desperately.

Clint looked from the girl to Nat and sighed, "Nat, you know I'm no good at taking care of kids."

Nat sighed and took Clint's hand with desperation, "Please Clint…I can't send her back to my place all alone…It's only until I get better and am released from here…Please Clint!"

Clint sighed, "Are you sure she is mine?"

Natasha nodded, "Yeah feathers, she's yours…I looked into that for sure…I have the blood test if you want them, but see, you were only one I was with…I have never done anything with anyone else, you are the only one…I just knew you were afraid of having a family, so I raised her myself, I didn't want to trouble you."

Clint sighed and then nodded, "Alright, if you are sure, then I trust you, you wouldn't make something like this up…" He sighed, "I will step up and be her father…I'll take her in while you are in here, you won't have to worry about me being away on a mission, Fury has not sent me out on one since New York…She'll be safe with me, I'll just have Fury move my sessions to my place so she is still with me."

Natasha smiled at him, "Thank you Clint, this has put my mind at ease…I was really worried about her, I mean, when you work in a job like ours, well, enemies come at no extra cost," she shrugged. "I just want to keep Clair safe…"

Clint nodded, "Nat, you have my word, I will protect her with my life.'

Natasha smiled, "Thank you Clint." Natasha turned to the girl and smiled at her, "Clair, this is Clint Barton, I've told you about him before…He is your daddy…"

The girl smiled at him and that was when Clint looked at her closely. She had her mother's body shape, but she had long silky blonde hair that was curled, the color of his blonde hair. The girl also had the same color of eyes as he did, however everything else about her screamed Nat. Clint watched her closely and she smiled at him.

"Hello daddy, it's nice to finally meet you…You are a lot more handsome then the picture mommy gave me…I always wanted to meet you," she said in an excited voice and Clint didn't know what to say, he didn't know he had a daughter until about five minutes ago when Nat told him…what did you tell a daughter you just met?

"Clair, honey, mommy has to stay here for a little while longer so she can get better and the hospital has rules about kids staying here, so you are going to go home with daddy and stay a while until mommy gets well enough to go home, okay," Natasha asked with a warm smile at the girl.

"You mean it really? I not only get to meet daddy, but I get to stay with him for a while too," she said with excitement, a huge smile crossing her face as she looked from Natasha to Clint and back to Natasha again.

"Yes dear, so why don't you grab your coat and teddy and then you can head back to our house and get your things and head home with your dad, okay?"

She smiled at Natasha, "Okay mommy, I'll be right back!"

Natasha watched as the little girl ran off and then looked at Clint, "Thanks for this, I don't trust anyone else with her…If you still don't believe me, you can do the blood test yourself, she's very good with needles and doctors visits, as you've seen that this place really does not bother her much."

Clint sighed as the girl rushed back in, "I trust you Nat, if you say she is ours, then I believe you, you wouldn't lie about this sort of thing…I'll take good care of her, I promise," he said as he watched the little girl rush up to Nat and hug her then run to his side. He sighed and went to one of the guards outside.

"Hey man, did you drive here," He asked.

"No Barton, I walked," the man said as he rolled his eyes, "Yes, I drove here Barton."

"I need to swap cars for the day…I rode my cycle here and I can't drive it and take the k…take Clair with me on it, it's not safe…You can have my cycle for the day and we can swap back tomorrow."

The man looked at the girl then back at Clint and shrugged, tossing his keys to Clint, "Here Barton, just don't get it scratched up."

Clint handed him the keys to his cycle and looked at the man, "I'll do my best…See you tomorrow." And with that he walked out with Clair, who had taken his hand and walked out with him, holding his hand and sticking to his side the whole time.


	2. Chapter 2 Budapest Flashback

**What Really Happened in Budapest**

**Chapter 2 Budapest Flashback**

Clint sat at the bar wiping out a glass. His cover for this mission was to work the bar, thankfully, seeing as they were working at a "male club," a nice way of putting strip club. He was working the bar, and Nat was out on the "floor" pretending to watch the show, and there was quite a bit to watch because these men were well endowed and they were not afraid to show it off. Clint served a drink to someone at the bar and that was when the boss man came to him.

"Hello Sir, I trust everything is going good…Did we find the mole in the company," Clint asked knowing that he and Nat were the "moles," but also knowing he had to keep the cover up, and maybe this way, if they were suspected, he would find out.

"Yes, actually we did, but that's not important right now Jones, what is important is that we have had several ladies ask for you to be the next on the stage," the boss said with a smirk.

Clint raised an eyebrow at this, "Excuse me sir, but when I signed on to work here, I signed on as the bar tender, not a stripper…"

The boss, who was the owner of the bar, smirked at Clint, "Oh, and your friend out there on the floor, the one with the pretty red hair and sparkly green dress, what is she?"

Clint tried to hide it, "I don't understand what you are talking about…"

The man smirked and nodded and then Nat was surrounded, "Oh no? I think you do know what I am talking about Jones, or should I say Agent Barton," the man chuckled and Clint scowled at him, but before he could reply, the men around Nat pulled out guns and knives and pointed them at her. Nat could get out of it, he was sure of it, but he didn't want to risk her, the chances were not in their favor. "I must admit, I never expected the famous duo of Hawkeye and the Black Widow to grace my club, but I think I could take advantage of it…Now are you going to work, or should my men start cutting your dear friend up?"

Clint looked over at Nat and she nodded, "Alright, you have made your point quite clear, I'll do as you say," he said with a frown.

Boss smiled and nodded and two of the men left Natasha's side and came over to Clint and that was their mistake. Natasha struck out at them with a new fury and Clint did the same. Nat aimed to disarm, but she also did not shy away from harming their attackers. They watched her and they slowly started to fall, one by one. Clint was a little more careful with his shooting, shooting to disarm, but never kill. Clint had killed his own brother by accident when he was young and he swore he'd never kill again, and he would stick to that, no matter what. The boss came up after them and Nat was tangled with another group of thugs and was not able to help. She looked over her shoulder and frowned.

"Feathers, you have to shoot him! You have the shot, take him down, it's our job," she hollered over her shoulder. Clint raised his gun but the man was too close, there was no way he could shoot him and not kill him. Director Fury always had Nat along on these jobs because he knew of Hawkeye's aversion to killing, and he knew that if it was needed and there was no other way, then Nat would do it, she would get done what needed to get done, however, Clint couldn't do it. He kept his gun raised at the man, but he didn't shoot, couldn't shoot, and that was his mistake.

Their mission had been to come here and stop the "boss," which actually ended up being the owner of the club, from using a mass virus to wipe out populations. Apparently this man had been manufacturing this drug for some time and was selling to the highest bidder. Because there was no antidote, that made this drug all the more deadly, and their job was to take this man down, by whatever means necessary, and secure the drug so an antidote could be made (if it was ever needed) and the drug could be locked away, but now it was too late. The man had Clint in a tight hold, his arm around Clint's neck, needle in hand.

"Drop the gun, or he'll have an unhealthy future," the man ordered. Natasha turned to look at Clint and he shook his head, the mission was important, he was only one man…His life meant nothing on the greater scale, if this virus went out, the whole world could pay. Clint shook his head again and Nat sighed and lowered her gun. Clint scowled at her as the men took it away and grabbed her, but before anyone could do much more, the boss stabbed him deep in his side.

Clint released his hold on the man's arms, that were still around his neck, and reached for his side. His face only showed a moment's pain and then he recomposed himself and forced himself to stand, he would not show weakness to these vermin. He stood proud and tall, though he could feel his side bleeding and see Nat's worried eyes on him.

The boss smirked as he looked between Clint and Natasha, "I was thinking that I needed a test subject for this drug, show the buyers what they are getting, maybe the famous Black Widow would like to volunteer…"

Clint gritted his teeth and glared at the man, "What, you're so weak now that you have to pick on women…You want to test it on someone strong, try testing it on me! I've lived through worse!"

The boss chuckled, "Ah, a brave little soldier to the end, protecting your dear partner…"

"Barton, don't be so stupid," Nat fired at him, pulling against the men holding her.

"No Widow, think of it, I am the stronger of the two of us, let it go," he ordered.

"Barton, this would not have happened if you had just done away with him when you had the chance, you had the shot!"

"Enough of this," the boss said annoyed. "Boys, take the Widow to her cell, the Hawk and I have a little game to play…"The boss chuckled when Natasha began to struggle against the men. He pulled out a knife and pressed it to Clint's neck and watched as a thin line of red trailed out and he smirked. Natasha paused, forgetting her fight for the moment, and watched as the blood dribbled down Clint's neck. Boss smirked at her, "By all means Widow, keep fighting, I've been ding to cut into this bird ever since he was revealed, I really hate him…"

Nat glared at him, but she stopped fighting, "Alright, you've made your point, now release him…I'll do what you say…I already know that I am the one you want anyways…I am the one that killed your brother, not Hawkeye, so release him and take your anger out on me!"

The man smiled at her, "All in good time Widow, but first I believe that Hawkeye has some information I still need…He shall prove, I think, a difficult person to get that out of, but I have never failed yet to break you agents that keep coming to me…" He waved his hand at the four men holding Natasha, "Boys, take Agent Rommanoff away, I still have use for her, but later…Right now I think I will spend some quality time with my Hawk friend," he smirked as his men took Natasha off and he walked away with Clint and the customers went back to watching the show on the stage as if nothing had happened there.

**Page Break**

Clint's arms were chained to the wall, a brick wall in a cell, the torture area of the boss's hideout. It was easy for the boss to come here to torture Clint and try to get the info out of him because this place was right under his club, and no one knew, well no one that ever escaped. Clint was breathing heavy as another crack of the whip hit his back. Clint bite back his pain, he could take this, it was nothing new to him, often he and Nat were tortured when under cover and found out, they would never give away Shield secrets, that's why they were always chosen for these kind of missions.

"I tire of this! Just give us the damn information we need! How many are on your team and when are they coming to get you," the boss yelled in Clint's face.

Clint made eye contact with the man, though his vision was a bit hazy, and smirked, "What are you talking about? Black Widow and I are free agents, working on our own on this mission." It wasn't a lie, they had been sent in on this mission alone. Backup would come eventually, he was sure of that, all he had to do was stall until they got there. The boss got mad and backhanded Clint.

"I am not stupid! I know you work for Shield, and I know they never leave a man behind! Just tell me when they are coming, tell me who is coming for you and where your base of operations is," the boss growled.

Clint sneered, he would never give that up, "I told you, we are alone! What's a matter, are you getting scared," Clint smirked and once again he was backhanded.

"Shut up!" The boss whipped Clint again, this time in his side and Clint couldn't hold back the hiss of pain, but that was all the man got. The man slapped Clint hard across the face and then grabbed a vial with a needle at the end, some sort of shot. Clint watched with caution as the needle was lifted and brought to him. "I tire of your games, if you are not going to help us, then I will simply have to get rid of you, but I won't let it be fast, no, that would be too easy…I'm going to let it be slow…You will of course feel the effects right away, but sadly for you, the virus may be a painful death, but it's slow…The effects are right away, but the death, it is slow, that is what makes it so popular, it makes its victims suffer slowly…" Boss brought the needle up close to Clint and Clint scowled, he would never show fear, but it was apparent that backup would not get here fast enough.

Clint felt the needle enter his arm and he felt as the man injected him with it. The boss was right, he felt it right away, he could feel it enter him because it felt like fire in his blood, his blood was on fire. He winced, all pride gone from him. He dropped, he might have been able to walk before, even with all the lashings he had faced, but now, now he could not even feel his legs. He dropped and the boss smirked.

"Ah, I see you have already felt the effects, good…Maybe now you will tell us what we need to know, after all, I am the only one with the antidote," he chuckled again.

Clint grunted, "G…Go to hell!"

The boss growled in anger, "FINE! Take this idiot to his cell…Let Widow see how strong her wondrous Hawk is," he mocked.

**Page Break**

Nat was pacing her cell, waiting…It had been two days since she had last seen Hawkeye and she was worried. She knew he could withstand a lot of things, but not knowing what was happening and not knowing what they were doing to him, or even what they wanted from him, it had her worried. She continued pacing back and forth and that was when she heard the men approaching, dragging something behind them. Nat's eyes grew wide when she saw it wasn't something, but someone, it was Clint. They opened the cell door and tossed him in and then quickly locked it behind them. Clint landed with a grunt and Nat's eyes widened. Clint didn't have a shirt on, so it could clearly be seen that he had several lash marks on his back from a whip, a few stab wounds, but aside from that, it could be seen that something else seemed to be wrong. As soon as the guards left, Nat was at Clint's side, lifting his head and looking into his eyes.

"Clint, what happened? What did they do to you, what did they want," She asked in a rushed voice.

Clint moaned and looked at her, "The…They wanted to know where the Sh…Shield base was…Wanted to know how many guys we had working on this team…Wanted Shield secrets…I didn't give him the satisfaction…"

"Clint, what did they do to you," She asked slowly.

"No…Nothing you can help," he said with a sigh.

"Clint," she asked slowly.

"Well, I told you, Miss Rommanoff, that I needed a test subject for the drug, and Mr. Barton seemed to pass all of my tests…He can withstand all this torture and still stay true to an organization that could care less if he lived or if he died…They sent you two here on a death mission and now that you have been captured, there is no way they will come for you, you two have become a risk…"The man smiled, "So, since Shield will not be coming back for their agents, I thought it best to test out my drug on Mr. Barton here, since he seemed so willing to spare you…He had the chance to save himself by telling me all he knew about Shield, but I suppose he just needs a day or two to suffer before I offer again, that is if he last that long…I would be surprised if he lasts the night…He falls asleep, and I doubt he will wake back up again." The man chuckled, "Viszlát örökre…" and with that he walked away.

"Nat, I'm a little too weak…What did he say," Clint asked lifting his head…He was trying to look strong, but his face was already breaking out in a sweat and he was pale.

Natasha looked down at him with a worried expression, "He said 'Viszlát örökre,' it means goodbye forever in Hungarian, but he's wrong…He thinks you are going to die tonight, but you won't, you're gonna live Feathers, do you hear me!"

"Nat, I'm too tired, I'm clocking out for the night…"

"You can't Feathers, I still need you! I love you," she declared in a rush and Clint looked up.

"Wh…what did you say," he asked weakly.

"I…I said I love you Clint…I…I love you, so please don't leave me…I still need you," she said, her voice thick with tears.

"Nat, I'm too tired, I…I can't keep this up," he said weakly.

"Then let me help…Let me show you my love…Fury and Coulson are not here to tell us no Clint, it's just you and I, and I will gladly become yours tonight, just please don't leave me," She said, her voice a bit shaky now.

"Yo…You want that? Bu…but I though love was for…for children…"he said weakly looking deep into her eyes.

"I lied."

**Page Break**

The next morning the boss came in to check on his prisioners. Though they were both clothed, (Minus Clint's shirt, though he never had that in the first place), the man could tell something had happened that night, there was no way Clint would have survived the night. Clint watched as the man approached the cell door and then he smirked.

"Ah ha, I see that you and Miss Rommanoff made a memory last night…Was that your trick for him as well to keep him alive, where as with my brother you did that with him so you could kill him, hmm?" Natasha frowned at him but before she could say anything, the man snapped his fingers and two men showed up, walked in the cell, and grabbed Hawkeye. Nat was on her feet in no time and was fighting them, causing one of them to drop Clint. Clint cried out and the boss laughed as he heard a crack. "Did I fail to mention that it weakens everything in you until everything shuts down? That includes the bones…I would guess that snap you just heard was his arm breaking," he smirked as Natasha punched one of his men hard in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him and causing him to fall.

"You leave him alone, you want to mess with someone, you mess with me, that's who you are mad at," she yelled at him as she worked her way though his men that were now surrounding him to protect him.

He smirked, "How right you are, but you see, I've seen how closely you two work, to get to you, I don't want you dead, that would be too easy, I have to make you suffer like you made me suffer when I lost my brother…You killed my brother, so what better way to get back at you then to kill your partner and your new lover," He smirked as he picked Clint up.

Natasha could see Clint weakening more and more, she knew she had to keep him awake, but she didn't know how. Right now she was facing all these men, who seemed to have come out of nowhere, and she could not get to Clint right at this moment. She knew he was strong, he was a fighter, but she didn't know how much fight he had left in him. He had suffered quite a bit before he had been injected with the drug, so his body was already weak, and she didn't know how much more he could take.

"Hang in there Feathers, I'll be in there in a moment to save your ass like you did mine in the last mission, just stay awake!"

"How right you are Miss Rommanoff, Mr. Barton just needs a wake up call," the man smirked and she frowned, what did he have planned. She knocked out another man on her way to get to the two of them. She had no weapons, so this time she had to use blunt force, but that was okay, she could still do that.

Before she could get to the two of them she saw, with horror, that the boss dragged Clint over to a barrel that the men had used to get water for her. She knew it had water in it and she could see it was full of water and she tried even harder to get to him. She rushed, but it was too late, the boss dunked his head in the water and held it there. Clint struggled a little, but he had no strength in his limbs, so the struggle was useless. Natasha finally made her way to Clint and "boss" and he smirked. He pulled out the needle and just as Clint weakly lifted his head and coughed.

What happened next happened in a flash of motion. Men rushed in on the scene, but thankfully it was not men that worked for "boss," but Shield agents. Finally, even if they were a bit late, their backup was finally there. They rushed in on the scene and the needle with the virus was apprehended, and that was when Clint dropped, still coughing.

"Feathers, don't you dare die on me! You hear me! If you die on me, I will kill you and bring you back to clean up the mess," Nat yelled.

Clint blinked and looked at her weakly, "I…I'll try Nat…"

They were met on the hellacarrier by Doctor Banner, Fitz, and Simmons…The virus was handed off to them to examine so they could examine it and find the antivirus and cure Clint in the process. Clint stumbled in on the hellacarrier and Banner took one look at his friend's injuries that he shook his head. He may have been able to help Fitz and Simmons come up with the antivirus, but right now Clint needed medical attention, and Doctor Banner was going to help him.

He hurried up to Clint, "Come on Barton, can't lose my tea buddy, lets get you fixed up."

Clint smiled weakly at him as he was slowly walked to the med bay by Banner and Nat, walked meaning they pretty much carried him because he had no energy left to fight and keeping his eyes open was all he could do. He knew his friends and he knew he would eventually make it up.


End file.
